Of Magic Dances and Crystal Moons
by hestia273
Summary: After a changeling exchange gone wrong, Jareth is on the verge of losing his distinguished place in the Seelie and Unseelie courts as part of his father's punishment. Desperate to prove himself, he decides to scheme a way to keep his title and his disaster of a kingdom - but will Sarah ruin everything for him again? Rated T for some romantic nonsense.
1. Chapter 1

A single barn owl flew away from the house it was observing. The revelries happening in the bedroom of a lone girl weren't for his eyes anyhow. Stretching his wings, he soared through the cool night air, basking in the starlight and trying his best to forget about the disaster that was the last few hours.

He, of course, had never expected for this to turn into as much of a debacle as it had been. Changelings were a required practice for his kind and for his position – he just didn't want to do it in the way that every single other mundane fairy did.

Then the girl was so innocent and naïve, he couldn't help himself by getting her involved. She was just on the cusp of more than likely loosing that fantastical imagination of hers, why not let it go out with a bang? So soon, too soon, she would only care about college and boys and taxes. Dreadful stuff.

The owl made his way to the park, and, in a move quite unlike a real owl, dove straight into the lake. If a person had been walking past this particular lake that evening, and waited to see if the owl would surface, they would be wasting their time.

He was home, after all, soaring above a vast wasteland and the massive Labyrinth at its center. It was time for him to report back to his kingdom and smooth things out as much as he could - and knowing that tales of this disaster would soon spread to both of the Courts, he should probably tell his father.

* * *

We all know the tales of the mighty Oberon and Titania, rulers of the Seelie and Unseelie courts. There are also plenty of tales of Puck and other naughty beings, and Shakespeare did his best to inform us of their tricksy ways. There is plenty of other lore in world, regarding changelings, fairy bargains, and even of Oberon's somewhat clandestine love affairs. But what ever happened to the immortal children of this royal union?

Fae can rarely get pregnant, as many know, but since these particular fae are almost as old as the seas it will not surprise the reader to know they have five immortal offspring. Since, of course, Oberon and Titania are also immortal, there really isn't any cause for an heir. Thus, to solve the problem of what to do with five royal offspring, they divided portions of the courts and gave each child jurisdiction of a small kingdom – they always, however, reported back to Oberon.

Their first child was a daughter, and she was so beautiful that many poets would use her as a muse for their inspiration of fairy queens and princesses, including the Bard himself. She was known as Queen Mab.

The next child, a boy who took much after his father, was given the elven forest kingdoms. He sometimes appeared in the dreams of young writers for fun, including a young Oxford scholar obsessed with trees and old lore. You might recognize him by his famous last name, as he never went by John Ronald Reuel.

The third was as Unseelie as could be, and she was given dominion over the redcaps, the hags, and the other creatures that go bump in the night. Not many would speak of her in daylight hours, so her name is quite forgotten now. Probably for the best.

The fourth was a spirited boy, and he found his place with the underwater creatures that paid homage to fairy courts, from selkies to hippocampi (and the occasional Loch Ness Monster). He rarely comes to court and doesn't matter in the grand scheme of this story, so he will simply be referred to as the Sea King.

By the time the fifth one came about, they really didn't know where to put him. He was louder than all the rest, and didn't have the quiet dignity and power that put fear into most fairy creatures. So, they sent him to a remote corner, where an ancient Labyrinth had been built by the Fairy Forefathers. As many precious monuments do, it succumbed to the worst sort - goblins, dwarves, and pixies. Thus, the fifth child became none other than Jareth, the Goblin King.

And that is where our story begins, right after a night of a changeling mishap back in 1986.


	2. Chapter 2

He'd only wanted the boy. Emissaries from Oberon had said he was neglecting his kingly duties, and requested that he bring a changeling to Court within the next few decades or lose his title. Well, he couldn't have that, could he? As much as he complained about his subjects, they were fun to boss around or throw into the bog every once in a while.

It was 1952. He decided to let the humans do most of his work for him, and instead of just stealing a child and leaving a goblin replacement, he would make the human ask for it.

The whole thing was quite simple, really. All he had to do was conjure a few extra pages in storybooks about a fantastical and malicious Goblin King who would take away unwanted children, if only a person said the magic words.

No, the story never became as popular as Robin Hood or Cinderella (though he never understood why the little kiddies would want to read about people cutting off their own feet). However it did gain a certain cult following amongst the more artistically minded of the humans.

People would collect different versions of the tale he had spread across the world, talked about it in shadowy cafes or in after school book clubs, and one even decided to write a play about. Of course he went to the first showing in '70 at an off Broadway theatre, and while critic's opinions of "The Labyrinth" varied, he quite liked his portrayal, though he would have wished his stage counterpart was a bit more roguishly handsome – but what mortal could live up to his good looks anyhow?

As time crept closer and closer towards his deadline, he began to get more and more angry. He, of course, would never be nervous, that just wouldn't suit a Goblin King. He put Goblins on patrol, letting them sneak into the portals between worlds so they would be ready whenever someone decided to try the magic words out. He watched countless parents tell the children his story over and over in his crystals, but not one had the imaginative capacity nor terrible siblings to actually wish someone away.

That is, until Sarah Williams.

Her mother was an actress in his play, he had apparently seen her that opening night though he couldn't recall. She and little Sarah had reenacted the play, dressing up and wreaking havoc in the park.

But then like most mortals, the mother died too young. As time passed and Sarah's father remarried, the girl clung to her imagination and the plays she and her mother had so loved.

When the boy Tobias Williams was born, he knew this was his chance. He was an awful child, and his step-mother was worse. Poor Sarah escaped into her imagination more and more, acting out her favorite plays in the park with only her dog for an audience. Well, and maybe the occasional barn owl, though she rarely took notice.

This particularly stormy day she acted out the final scene from "The Labyrinth," though even after all this time she couldn't remember all the lines. He liked this silly child well enough, it was in his nature. Fairy creatures were always drawn towards foolish, innocent, beautiful children full of imagination, and Sarah had those qualities in spades.

He could feel the tremors in the earth. Something would change today, he knew it.

He flew above her as she ran home, annoyed at the rain soaking into his feathers. Perched on a window outside a family bedroom, he could hear all the shouting and overdramatic accusations from Sarah. If he wasn't currently an owl, he would be grinning like a cat about to catch a canary.

The goblins, for their part, were asleep. Earlier that week he had instructed that all of them pile in front of the portal that leads to the Williams home, as each portal usually lead to the home of a child, but they had fallen asleep on duty. Not that he was surprised, really.

But when Sarah came into the room to accuse the baby of stealing her stuffed bear toy, the goblins slowly became more and more agitated. This was it. This was the moment. Jareth, getting more excited than he would ever admit to even himself, decided that if she did call him forth, he would make it worth her while.

Unfortunately, she forgot the line again. Really, he had made it so simple, was she this forgetful?

Yet, just as she left, she finally got it right.

"I wish the Goblin King would take you away, right now."

That was all the invitation he needed.

Thunder cracked and he flew straight at the window while the goblins did what they did best, making mischief in the room. He could just see her frightened disoriented turning, looking for the babe, and clawed at the window, while he gathered his power for a dazzling entrance.

The glitter may have been a touch too much, but he couldn't help himself. Her shocked expression was too precious, and worth every bit of effort. He was her every dazed afternoon of daydreaming brought to life, so he played into the role, teasing her and showing off little feats of magic.

She begged, unexpectedly, for him to return the child. Of course he refused, what fairy worth his gold would give up a changeling without a fight? But his twisting clever mind was already thinking of ways to prolong this game. He still had a few years to bring a changeling to his father, what did 13 hours matter?

He posed a challenge. She accepted. He was confident she could never win, and knew he controlled the kingdom to suit his every whim, and his current whim was to keep the child while being entertained by this ridiculous would-be heroine for a short while.

Opening up the portal between there worlds, he gave one last warning with no feeling in it. Really, it careened quite close to sarcasm. She of course refused, and he faded away before she could catch his malicious smile.

She stared at where he had disappeared, and oh how he loved that confused and terrified look on her face.

She sighed, looked forward at the Labyrinth ahead of her, even more monstrous than she had thought.

"Well, come on feet!"


	3. Chapter 3

She should have never made it this far. The Oubliette? Of course, now she was trapped, but he had no intention of keeping her there for eternity, he had other prisoners or goblins to punish. The game wasn't finished yet.

Still, he knew Hogfather would eventually lead her back to the start, as he commanded. The bumbling dwarf was good for little, but he assumed the coward could manage this much.

Yet as he watched in his crystal, moving away from his goblins as they whined and swarmed him to get "a better looksy," the dwarf defied him and blatantly started to lead the girl towards the False Alarms, deeper into the Labyrinth than he had ever planned for her to wander.

It was high time he got involved again.

Once settled in his masquerade, he let the crystal move back towards him from the trail, ambling past Sarah and Hobble and enticing them to follow. There it hopped up into his beggar's cup, and his mummery began,

"Ahhhhhh," he rasped, "and what do we have here?" Even if it was a brief mummery, he would still relish every second of dramatic flair.

"Ah, um, nothing, nothing, just passin' through."

"Nothing?" With a single toss he threw off the disguise and loomed over the pair. He never said he was a patient dramatist. "Nothing, nothing, tra la la?"

The dwarf cowered, as he should, and the girl looked taken aback but not yet unfazed. He decided to focus on the dwarf first, to further cause the girl dismay.

He lightly tapped his chin with one gloved finger, as if in contemplation. "What on earth is that thing around your wrist?" taking note of the plastic bauble.

Apparently the girl had tried to bribe him. Maybe she deserved a tiny bit of credit, he supposed. He looked back to the dwarf, and inquired whether he was taking her back to beginning or not.

The effect was immediate with the dwarf backtracking and stuttering, and the girl balking at the dwarf's deception. Jareth's smile twitched just a hair wider.

Then he addressed the girl, peering down at her and letting his voice sink low and sultry. She did have such fine innocent eyes, didn't she? When he asked her how she liked his Labyrinth, she stuck out her chin and said it was "a piece of cake."

Oh, she could be so demanding. A piece of cake, was it? Well, he would just have to see about that.

Her instant reaction to him reordering time was well worth the magical effort it took him. He didn't often get to perform many feats of magic for others, unless it was instantly banishing a goblin or two to the Bog. He would leave her with one last present before he went back to the castle. After all, no adventure with a heroine is complete without imminent death chasing her.

After the Cleaners it was a series of successions in his getting involved. Now he wanted to tweak the Labyrinth, to alter her course, as if he were the author of her fairy tale himself. He could swagger and boast and threaten all day long, but he would not dwell on the fact that he had never done so much for any fairy, and certainly never a mortal, before now. If that thought did creep up from the back of his mind, he chalked it up as desperation in getting the changeling. Of course, he already had the child, and could get him to Oberon in an instant. Why was he dawdling?

Luckily no one had brains enough to point that out to him, and he wasn't about to go and admit something as foolish as that to himself. So he decided to corner Hogwomple and persuade him to carry out another bit of magic to ease his mind.

Of course, the dwarf decided to grow a conscious over a pretty girl. But with enough cajoling and threats he eventually got the creature to take the peach. He still hadn't exactly decided what the peach would do once she ate it, but he would send crystals in spades to do the work once she ate it.

All he had imbibed it with was a mental link, so he could alter her thoughts and dreams and keep her in a close to comatose state. Extra insurance, as the mortals would say.

As he kept watching her innocent idiocy, he still felt himself drawn to her. Now he wouldn't even look at the bumbling companions she was gaining as she made her way closer and closer to him. Part of him, and very minuscule part he assured himself, almost wanted her here, a permanent plaything to torment as tease.

So when she finally ate the peach, he decided to indulge himself, and join her in whatever fanciful dream his magic crafted for her.

He chuckled to himself to see a scene from the play, the Masquerade Ball, and Sarah dressed as the princess in the tale, the very role her mother portrayed. Of course, the mortals had romanticized the tale for the play and made the princess fall for the wicked Goblin King and he for her, which had made him gag on his drink in the theater. But this time, he smiled to himself, and let himself be temptation incarnate to complete the picture.

He let her catch glimpses of himself as he popped up in various places around the ballroom, taking it in and laughing as she seemed confused and scared by the debauchery around her. She did look rather pretty, a vision in white, the pure princess. As the song from the play continued, he knew that if he were to follow the script, a dance would be next.

When he finally came up to her, he was rather struck by the soft look in her eyes. Mortals were so odd, could they not sense that he could simply make her cease to exist on a whim?

He waltzed her around and sang the song, as was his role, but he felt like he was doing more than just going through the motions. He looked down at her, and wondered idly if he could keep her here forever, dancing in this floating crystalline world.

But then he saw it. She was starting to realize something was wrong. And then, the unexpected – she ran out of his arms, dashed a chair against the mirrored wall, and woke up in a dazed, confused state.

Jareth for his part, had been napping comfortably on the parapet, and nearly fell off when he was jolted awake.

Damned if he wasn't actually falling for this mortal.


	4. Chapter 4

From there it only got worse, and so did his feelings on the whole matter.

As a purely immortal being, from the line of the Greatest Fae to have ever walked the realms, he was allowed,_ expected_ even, to dally with all manner of creatures. An expectation which he was only too happy to oblige. But having feelings for another creature? That was reserved for lesser fae and mortals, a King such as himself would be weak if he pursued these fleeting things as the rabble did.

But after the dreaming, he was shaken. Now he wanted to make sure this would end differently if he could, to goad the girl into staying and tempt her into giving up her quest.

The memory loss helped, though he knew she would never be kept by the filthy urchins who guarded the heaps, however loyal they were to him. Soon enough she was at the gates, and he called his ridiculous goblins to "fight" if they could (more like run around and step on chickens while causing enough chaos for the girl's party to delay her entrance to the castle).

Soon enough, with minutes to spare before the thirteenth hour, he felt her presence reverb through the stone. He was already dressed for his meeting with her, all dark leather and piercing gazes. Quietly he waited in the Escher room, and strained his ears to hear her first footfalls.

There he would admit his feelings for her, though she would never know it. Fae never lie, it is well known, but Jareth had a way of making things sound insincere or too dramatic for reality. Therefore, he knew, as he teased her from the ever changing staircases, the words spun into nonsensical poetry that dripped from his lips were true.

Once again, the idiotic girl decided to try to be heroic, and jumped from a height he knew was greater than it seemed, and would likely kill the poor thing upon impact.

He knew nothing, only acted, flinging out a crystal and capturing her in a realm between their two worlds.

There he made his final plea, the final temptation. Whether he was giving into the melodrama of the moment, or actually being earnest, he couldn't tell. Being earnest was a foreign thing to him. There was no spell to break here, he could keep her here for as long as he liked, force her to fall in love with a few cakes and mulled wine.

But, he didn't.

When she said that final line in the play, he suddenly decided this was probably for the best to stop it here. This would be a lovely final finish to her childhood, if anything else, even if in a few years she thought it was all a dream.

He flung the crystal up, and before she knew it, she was back home. Though, it was not entirely the same. Jareth had used one of the crystals and replaced her mirror with it, so she and the fairy creatures (and perhaps, maybe, a lonesome barn owl) could still communicate. If anyone ever found out and accused him of being _nice_, or giving a gift freely of that sort, he would always say it was to spy on her undressing (not that he ever did).

Now he had lost both children, and the deadline seemed to choke him. He would at least report this before anyone else could to the King with their malicious gossip, for fairies could at least say the truth in a way that had all sorts of terrible innuendos.

Passing through a curtain of water, he was back in the Summer Court, the crown of the Seelie. There, in its forested depths and shining witchlights, stood the mound where the King Under the Hill resided.

The owl swooped down to the ancient oaken guard standing as sentinel to the entrance, and made sure to land briefly on a branch to dust off a few feathers and scratch the wood just to annoy old Bracken Branch.

Then he was inside, the earthen corridors twisting in and out of one another to confuse any adversaries, lesser beings, or mortals. With his heightened senses, it was easy for Jareth to find his way, as any royal fae would.

The wisterias draping from the ceiling seemingly coming from oblivion always tickled his nose, and he refrained from sneezing by magicking the air away. He did not look to see if tiny sprites or nixies got caught underfoot as they made their way serving the various occupants of the Hill citadel.

He blew back the cherrywood gates to his father's garden, the main reception area. As was always with this place, fae of all sorts frolicked together to never ending music and lapping at their goblets of ambrosia and nectar, playing with the foolhardy mortals they had caught for the season.

He swaggered over to his father's chaise, where the few nymphs of the month fettered about trying to look as appetizing as possible. His father, as always, looked bored, lounging in his translucent shimmering robes.

With a sweeping bow he addressed him. "My lord father, how good it is to see you keeping such fine company, as always."

The nymphs tittered and laughed, while his father didn't even deign to look at him. Oberon looked more like a medieval vampyre than a fairy king, with bone pale skin, ashen hair, and pit black eyes that didn't even so much as glimmer.

"Have you brought me what I asked?" his father drawled in his midnight voice.

"It's good to see you too of course. Ah, and unfortunately not, but my deadline is not quite here yet. Cannot a son simply visit his father out of the goodness of his heart?" He walked over and leaned on one of the sugar-spun orange trees surrounding and shading the area. "I'm afraid though that there will be those who try to fool you into thinking that I failed to catch one. I'm putting the mortals to a test, that is all. I have not your many years to play with them, and I still enjoy figuring out how exactly they tick. "

"And that was what you were doing with the mortal girl, was it?"

Oberon still hadn't even looked his way. He simply sipped his glass, and now started to absently run his fingers through the mane of one of the nymphs, causing her to purr.

Jareth felt himself almost flush with shame, but he easily masked it. "Oh come come, my lord, all fae are drawn to children like that. I think you even sired a few bastards with mortal girls like her. Not that I could blame you." He said, with a wry undercurrent to his voice.

Still that did not give a rise from the King Under the Hill.

"You have had your leisure, princeling. Bring me a changeling in 13 years to this day, at the turn of the mortal millennia, or your lands and titles are forfeit." The king rose, scattering the nymphs to stand at his sides, and towered over the Goblin King with his unnatural height. Jareth did not meet his eyes and kept his features neutral – he valued his life more than he did a laugh. "It's a simple task really. You just enjoy being a bother. Perhaps the Queen and I will get over our spat just to sire a new princeling to take your place."

Jareth felt a single muscle twitch in his face, which of course was enough for the King Under the Hill. Slowly, like molasses in a tar pit, Oberon notched one finger under Jareth's chin and titled his face up to his.

"Meet my eyes, oh son of mine."

Of course he did. While he would flaunt his power and relish in reordering the stars at a whim, his power was nothing, not even a speck of dust, when compared to his father. No matter if he was grown and in the height of his power and allure – the immortal being before him would always reign first.

The effect was immediate, and he could feel his power seep out and disappear into those depthless eyes.

"No fanciful mortal nonsense this time. You overstep your place. Complete the task. Or lose everything."

_Not fair,_ he thought. He knew nothing ever was, but being around that girl enough made the remark suitable at this time. The King Under the Hill was changing the stakes over nothing. He knew exactly what that statement truly meant. Mortality.

Oberon stared back a moment longer, until Jareth was sure his knees would collapse, and said softly. "You are free to leave." Off he went into the orange grove, nymphs frolicking and hanging off him as he went.

Jareth held himself still for a moment, and then instantly transported him back to the Labyrinth, Seelie Court formality and niceties be damned. Thirteen years. It wasn't a terribly long time, but not so short either. Much could happen, and with his powers significantly drained, he needed a plan.

One that preferably did not involve any lovely heroic nightmares getting in his way.


	5. Chapter 5

Sarah Williams, for all she was worth, was not a very good actress. Which was a shame, given all the years in dress up playing with her mother. Eventually she let that dream fade away after dismal reviews from student led drama productions in college. But, all that aside, she was a very talented writer.

Critics raved about how she could come up with such fantastical situations, which coming from any other author's pen would be utter nonsense. Yet somehow, she always made it work. Fans from that obscure play sometimes harassed her, saying that turning the Labyrinth into a YA series ruined it, but whenever she casually mentioned her mother played the princess opening night, they would grudgingly accept her work. Her stories soon spread across the country, and her publisher said that her first novel would soon be translated into a few other languages as well. She was on her way for someone so young, the publisher said with a money-making grin.

Sarah knew, deep down, where it all came from.

It had been 11 years since that fateful summer night, and even now, if she ever caught herself thinking of goblins, or heaven forbid a certain king, she would argue with herself whether or not it had ever been real. Most of the time she firmly told herself it was just another dream.

But sometimes, in the corner of her vision when she passed her old vanity mirror, she thought perhaps she saw a large furry monster give a wave, or a lone barn owl swoop past. She simply ignored it, and didn't look any further. When she had tried talking to someone, anyone, about her time in the Underground, she was labeled a schizo.

In fact, her father got so worried he did end up taking her to the psych ward over the summer that followed this made-up adventure. The doctors labeled it trauma, coping with her mother's death and her father's remarriage. That was where she learned to keep her fantasies to herself, and channel the vivid dreams into her writing.

Dream she did. If there was one thing that continuously made her question her sanity, it was her dreams. Each more vivid than the last, she still lived out the events in the Underground, as if she went back nightly with her old imaginary companions.

This particular night, she dreamed that she was having tea with Sir Didymus, in a forest far enough away from the Bog that it wouldn't ruin their appetites (though if the wind blew in a certain direction, she swore she could just smell dirty gym socks on the breeze).

The knight sighed as he poured her tea. "How I wish, dear lady, that you would come and truly visit me here. We've missed you for so long! Eleven years now in the mortal realm, is it?"

Sarah took a sip of the minty brew. "If you were real, of course I would! Perilous bog, pushy kings and all, it would be nice to get away."

Sir Didymus gave her a pained look and sighed unhappily. Her friends had long ago given up convincing her that it was real.

Which of course it was. Since she no longer used the mirror to connect directly, the magic seeped into her sleep, as crystal mirrors often lead to dreaming anyways.

Sarah did wish it were real. Sure, she led a wonderful life all things considered, but who wouldn't want a fairy tale to escape to every now and again? Toby was growing into an imaginative little boy and was her biggest supporter in her writing. Karen had finally relaxed after many years, and they could talk civilly at family holidays. She had a nice flat all to herself, and a gorgeous little red setter mutt named Ludo.

She had wonderful friends from college to go out on the town with, and she had dated a few guys who weren't terrible but nothing to write home about. Her fans were incredible, and she was always delighted to see their fan art or their costumes when she came to book signings.

She would tell her imaginary friends in her dreams all about them, how one family named their new sheepdog puppy Ambrosius after her book, and how she laughed to see little boys try to act like the grumpy, lovable Hoggle. She never mentioned how her heart always did a back flip when someone did a particularly good Jareth cosplay, though.

If there was one thing she would admit to herself, it was her mixed feelings on this particular Goblin King character of hers. Oddly enough, she never saw him in her nighttime dream visits to the Underground, and sometimes she caught herself secretly wishing she would. If anything so she could give him a good smack for stealing Toby in the story.

Something had definitely impressed itself on her imaginations and her tastes though, as she tended to go for taller guys with blonde hair and lighter eyes.

Either way, writing that character had always been a little…difficult for her. She tended to dwell on those scenes to capture him perfectly, which only added to her frustration.

But, these were thoughts for another time. Now she was here, petting Didymus's noble steed and enjoying the fine fairy cakes the knight provided for their repast.

"Brother Ludo should be along in any moment. Sir Hoggle was supposed to be here an hour hence, the coward. Still afraid of my mighty sword I daresay!"

Sarah laughed and agreed wholeheartedly. Maybe she should write a duel scene for them in her next novel.

The door burst open, Ambrosius fled, knocking the table and spilling tea onto the happy pair. Sarah and Didymus, with shouts of shock at the hot tea and the disturbance, barely had a moment before Hoggle said, out of breath,

"Miss! Miss, he's up in your world! Did ya know? He's stalkin' your streets! He's gonna steal a child, that's what I heard! All 'round folk are talkin' about it. Have ya seen him? Could you stop him?"

There was a beat of silence, and then Sarah slowly smiled.

"Oh this is a fantastic twist. How clever, to bring you all up to my world, that's what my next novel will be! Thank goodness this isn't real, we couldn't have that bastard up in reality, now could we?"

Didymus sighed again and Hoggle grabbed Sarah by the arms, shaking her.

"Sarah, it's high time you believed us – you are here! This, all this around you, is real! Jareth did steal your brother, ya beat him at this own game, and now he's gonna wreak havoc in the mortal realm! Is that really want ya want? Would ya just take a chance and believe again?"

She didn't know what to say to that. Thankfully, she didn't have to.

She blearily opened her eyes, and groped to find her digital alarm clock in the semi-darkness, trying to press the snooze button so Rick Astley would stop that god-awful song before she got it stuck in her head all day. It was almost the weekend, could the radio stations around here wake her up with something milder for once? The other day it had been Nirvana for heaven's sake.

Once done, she settled back on her pillows and stared up at the ceiling. Ludo whined from his crate, begging to be let out. She ignored him for a moment.

There was no way, absolutely no way, that nightmare was walking around in the open daylight, strutting in too-tight pants that could get him arrested, she was sure. Didn't someone have to wish a child away, isn't that how it worked? It was simply the fatigue from the past week of work catching up to her, and influencing her subconscious. He was simply a figment of her imagination, and it was all just a silly dream anyways. There was something though, a single question, tugging at the back of her mind.

What would it really cost her, if she did believe?


	6. Chapter 6

It was finally Friday evening, and thank goodness for that! Lila had already emailed her an invite to go out to the Blue Lady tonight, their favorite bar. Sarah found herself once again slightly astounded at the instant communication through this new Hotmail thing.

Her day job as a guest professor in creative writing was nice, but kept her plenty busy so the weekend was always welcome to relax and maybe get a bit more writing and a bit less grading in.

Slipping into cuffed jeans was an immense relief after a full week of starched work pants. She played some of her favorite music from her teen years as she applied makeup and put on a comfortable jacket to block out the Northeastern fall breezes. As she applied a last layer of lip gloss, Janet Jackson asked the age old question, "What have you done for me lately?"

Ludo sat by her vanity, wagging his tail, thinking she was getting ready to take him on a walk. She smiled and patted his head, and scratching his ears, vehemently promised to take him on a full blown hike tomorrow.

Grabbing her keys and spraying a last bit of perfume on her wrists, she waved goodbye to the dog and locked the door behind her. The streets were already getting a little full with college students and other adults out for the night. Many were heading off to the cinema to catch a new movie, "The Rainmaker."

Sarah hummed the Jackson tune to herself as she walked the familiar paths and streets to the Blue Lady, watching the leaves dancing around her feet, wondering absently if Lila had already found a table for them. That was when she bumped into someone.

She stumbled back a few steps, laughing it off and feeling her face flushing. She said a rushed apology, not meeting the stranger's eyes, and hurried past the next block to find sanctuary at the bar, praying no one else coming there had seen her embarrassing misstep along the way.

The stranger, for his part, still stood frozen on the sidewalk.

* * *

Of course, it would be her.

He had spent years formulating his plan, crafting every detail, honing it to perfection. He had scouted several mortal towns and cities over the years until he thought he had found the perfect site. It should have worked perfectly.

How was he supposed to know that one Sarah Williams lived there?

She had to have recently moved there. He had vaguely kept up with her for a few years, sometimes invisibly visiting her night revels in the Underground, or swooping down as a barn owl, watching her from the trees as she took that beast of hers out for a walk. Eventually a certain pang in his gut had bothered him enough that he decided to stop watching her altogether, though he did make sure to get a copy of all her books.

He had recognized her instantly, even if she was a woman now. The softness had hardened slightly, and she no longer had a pure air of innocence and unaldulterated imagination about her, the things that fae could smell a mile away. Yet somehow, he knew it was her, without a doubt.

It dismayed him that he somehow found her even more appealing than he did all those years ago.

He knew he should ignore. He knew he should forget. Both seemed impossible at that moment.

His lip curled. What harm could come from following her? From saying hello for a moment?

There was nothing she could do up here to interfere with his plans. They were already in motion.

His eyesight was better than any mortal creature, so as he turned, he could see the far off place she ducked into, under a neon sign proudly announcing that it was "The Blue Lady Lounge."

He let the anticipation grow by ambling slowly there, not instantly transporting himself. Some things he had found by watching the mortals were best savored, not rushed.

* * *

Local jazz students played in a corner, and Sarah was relieved to see Lila waving her over at their favorite corner table. They both liked the advantage of seeing the whole place at once, to scout out the crowd for friends or potential dates, and after several tries, they found this was the only table they could do that. Lila had already taken the kind liberty of ordering them both two house cocktails.

They chatted easily, half shouting over the saxophone solo, and catching up on the week. Lila worked at the same university as an anthropology professor, and their class schedules were almost the exact opposite of each other's. Getting to hang out now was the best part of the week in Sarah's opinion, other than coming home to her dog.

Neither heard the door open over the music, and neither saw him walk in. It was only when Sarah was taking a sip of her cocktail, looking outside and wondering if it was going to rain, when Lila snorted into her drink.

"Oh my god. Sarah, I swear, the man of your dreams just walked up to the bar. No, don't look! I think he's turned this way, he'll see you."

Sarah smiled and felt her heart flutter a little. She was always a little nervous around guys, but her friend had excellent taste and they had both helped each other as wing women over the years. If Lila thought this man was that good, she must be pretty close to the mark.

Sarah studied her drink, the table, the window, anywhere but the bar, trying desperately to appear casual. "What does he look like?"

Her friend took a sip from her drink, and then glanced back in that direction.

"Crap, I think he almost caught me. Well, he's tall for starters, not a giant, but _definitely_ a tall drink of water."

"Lila!"

"Hmm, he's wearing a black leather jacket and a few necklaces, sort of like a biker gang mixed with grunge band."

"And he's my type how?"

"Shush! He is, I'm telling you! He's got this light feathery blonde hair, short but sort of sticking straight up like he runs on electricity. Are the tips dyed blue? No, that must be the lighting in here. And those cheekbones, I think you could cut yourself on them. Oh! Okay, he's talking to Marty, look now!"

Sarah did, and indeed saw a tall man talking to the friendly bartender and owner. She could only see him from behind, and she thought he looked relaxed, confident, and for all the grunge leather style, Sarah could tell he probably was her type. He started to turn and she immediately looked away, praying that her long hair swishing behind her wouldn't give her away.

"Okay, I concede, you're probably right."

"Probably? Pssh, you know I am." She leaned in closer. "Want me to go up and talk to him for you?"

Sarah felt her face flush. Her friend's smile widened.

"I'll take that blush as a yes. Wish me luck!"

Before she could protest or grasp her wrist and stop her, her impulsive friend was halfway across the bar, pushing past people and settling down on a bar stool close to the mystery guy.

Sarah's groan was hidden under the jazz, and she ran her hands through her hair. Well, she didn't necessarily mind, but she felt an overwhelming amount of embarrassment. She was 26 for goodness sake's, she should be past this tween BS.

She heard a man's laugh coming from the direction of the bar. For some reason it made her go cold all over, and sent a rippling chill down her spine. Something, though she couldn't say what, was oddly familiar about it.

The jazz ensemble made it through a whole other piece before her friend sat back down again.

"You owe me for being such a good best friend. If I hadn't already pegged him for you, I would be climbing all over him, I swear. That accent, oh my god." She mimicked fanning herself and Sarah laughed.

"He has an accent?"

"Yeah, he's a Brit! A Brit with a smoky, sexy accent. And those eyes, I've never seen eyes like that, you're going to fall for him on the spot. Danger incarnate. I mean it was a bit hard to hear but I did get his name, and he said he might come join us later for a drink. You're welcome!" she sang.

"So?"

"So, what?"

"His name!"

"Oh, right. Jared, I think. His accent made it sound funny though. Not a terrible name, right?"

Sarah frowned slightly, but nodded. It wasn't her favorite, and it brought to mind a more unpleasant association from her characters. She would be willing to forgive him though if he could actually carry a conversation, unlike so many men.

"Don't look now but he's coming this way. You look great, don't worry about a thing, just be yourself, and don't lose your head!" Lila frantically stage whispered.

As if on cue, the band started to play "The Very Thought of You" as Sarah saw the mystery man walking their way out of the corner of her vision. Once in earshot, he asked, "Would you mind if I joined you ladies?"

Sarah froze.

That voice. It couldn't be that voice. She was imagining it, she had to be. She was having a schizophrenic episode or something based off her dream this morning.

Slowly, she brought her eyes up, and met a mismatched pair she had thought was just a part of a long-ago dream. Seeing him up close, there was no mistake, no rational or irrational way to go about this.

As the world fell down around her, the Goblin King sat down for a drink.


	7. Chapter 7

Jareth sipped his drink and smiled over the rim of his glass at Sarah, who was desperately trying to look calm and collected and failing miserably.

Oh, seeing her squirm and flush was more delicious than he had imagined.

No doubt she never thought of seeing him here in front of her, back once again. It was utterly delightful, that look of shock and surprise on her face. He knew he'd be watching that moment over and over in a crystal later on.

When he had entered the bar, he honed in on her conversation, and heard every flattering word, smiling maliciously to himself.

The barkeep asked what was so funny. He replied fate with a small chuckle. Who would have thought that they would ever see each other again? Certainly not him, and he ignored the voice in the back of his mind reminding him how much he had hoped to.

Soon enough Sarah's friend flounced over to him and introduced herself, eyeing him up and down. She was rather pretty herself, but Jareth had other aspirations for this evening. He turned on the charm, and soon enough she invited him to join, which he halfway accepted. He wanted to hear the report back first.

He had caught Sarah looking at him approvingly from behind earlier, and he almost laughed imagining what she would think when she saw who it really was.

Reality was far better than his boisterous imagination when the moment came.

Now he was there, putting in a word or two while the friend managed the conversation, and he kept his eyes on Sarah the whole time. At one point he made sure to adjust his posture in a way so that his knee brushed hers, and the jump it elicited was far too pleasing.

A warning bell rang in the back of his mind. He knew fae spies were probably watching him, and his father had implied that there should be no mortal tomfoolery this time. But as with most things concerning the Courts, he blatantly ignored that little bell, and continued to relish his little heroine's company for a few moments more.

* * *

This was a disaster.

Sarah very, very much wanted flee or disappear entirely. Everything was going haywire in her brain.

This was real, physical proof in front of her that what she and everyone else had written off as trauma-induced hallucinations was a reality. Her best friend was talking to him, so it wasn't only her that could see him. That would have been so much easier.

This meant _everything_ was real. Her nightly visits, her stories, Toby's kidnapping – all of it.

Hoggle's warning.

Well, he wouldn't be taking any kids on her watch.

She observed him out of the corner of her eye. He hadn't aged at all, but it seemed he had changed with the times. Gone were the poet's shirts, glitter, and bird's nest hair. Instead of a fairy king pretending to be an 80's popstar, he was now a fairy king pretending to be a grunge rock n' roll guitarist. He still had the amulets, and his hair was shorter but still as wild, but he wore a plain black t-shirt under a leather jacket and jeans tight enough she still wondered if it were legal. How could pants that tight be in any way comfortable?

He was leering at her, that's what she decided to call that stare of his. He was goading her into some reaction, some acknowledgment of his presence.

"Sarah here is actually a pretty well-known author, right? Sarah?" Her friend glared at her, giving her a why-are-you-making-me-do-all-the-work look. Sarah could only nod, not trusting herself to say much.

"Ah yes, the Labyrinth series, correct? Wonderful books, I'm sure. The plot seems a bit too predictable, don't you think?" He gave her a challenging look.

Of course she took the bait. "Really? Most readers would argue that it's just the opposite, that the Goblin King makes it up as he goes along, as he isn't all that bright."

Jareth's face remained impassive. "You're giving your best character far too little credit."

"I thought you had never read them?"

"Now when did I say that?"

"I'm going to get another drink, you two have fun." Lila said, getting up and giving Sarah a last "don't mess this up" look before going to the bar.

Jareth leaned back in his chair, looking far too comfortable in Sarah's opinion.

"Hoggle warned me you'd be here. I guess I should have believed him."

"I suppose. Be that as it may, it is a delight to find you here after all these years. How are you, Sarah?"

"Pissed off, actually. I was fine living my life and thinking you and your silly Labyrinth was a trauma induced hallucination, thank you very much."

"No worries, precious, I won't be here for long. Unfortunately for both of us, this isn't singularly a social call."

She crossed her arms in front of her and arched an eyebrow, an art she had practiced in the mirror for days after first meeting the Goblin King. "That's right, Hoggle mentioned you want to steal a child, is that it?"

Jareth spread out his hands in a surrendering manner. "I have a task to complete. Sarah, I assure you, the lucky babe will be safe and have the time of his life with me."

"You're a terrible babysitter."

He let out a dark chuckle "And how is Jareth Junior?"

"_Toby_ is just fine, and leave him out of this. If you need a child don't you dare go looking for him. In fact, just leave now and don't take anyone's child, how's that for a thought? Or wait until some other silly teenager wishes one away?"

"What a wonderful idea Sarah," he deadpanned, "leave empty handed and throw away a decade's worth of planning? I think not. And as for your other suggestion, you're the only one who ever tried that out."

"You can't be serious."

"Ask around, if you still talk to those little friends of yours. You're the only one who had the idiotic gall to actually try it and mean it."

She decided to ignore that (she _had_ saved Toby in the end, after all). It was time to get back to the topic at hand.

"You have a whole kingdom full of goblins, and after seeing Toby grow up, I can tell you that goblins are just as bad as five year olds. Why the hell do you want another one?"

"That's not something you need to know, and nothing to concern yourself with."

Sarah glared at him, and he smiled as innocently as he could back at her.

As the moments passed and it became obvious he would give nothing else away, she let out a frustrated noise. "Fine, I'll just find a way to banish you back to the Underground where you belong, empty handed. I beat you once, I can do it again."

* * *

She could be so trying. He had forgotten that about her. He had forgotten a lot, apparently, as his feelings for her suddenly welled up out of nowhere seeing that determined glint in her eye, and all that mattered was being close to her once more.

He almost wanted to see her try to stop him. What would that look like this time around?

But, sadly, he had no time to dawdle and dally.

_Perhaps afterwards_, he consoled himself, _I will make some time for that._

* * *

He leaned in closer, his knee brushing against hers again, causing her to flush and sit firmly back in her seat. It got even worse when his cold fingers suddenly held her hand tightly and she gasped, mentally cursing herself. No gloves this time around.

"Oh Sarah," he sighed, tracing little patterns with his thumb, "why must you always play the heroine? Do not defy me. I find myself in a not-so forgiving position this time around. It was lovely, truly, to see you again. My favorite little mortal." He glanced up at her then, his eyes turning steely. "But if you ruin this for me, you will be punished accordingly."

She tried, desperately, to come up with a clever, cheeky rebuttal to wipe that stupid smirk off his face. But he dipped down to press his lips to her hand, and was suddenly gone.

Sarah swore under her breath, rubbing at her tingling hand, and too soon for Sarah to collect her thoughts, Lila was there, bouncing up and down on her heels.

"I saw the whole thing! Oh my goodness how romantic! Sarah, I'm begging you, please tell me you got his number? Or at least another date set up?"

She needed to collect her thoughts. She needed a plan of attack. No one was going to lose their kid to a disreputable, wicked, stupidly selfish Goblin King on her watch.

"Oh I absolutely plan on seeing him again, you can bet on that."


	8. Chapter 8

She needed a plan.

This was Jareth they were talking about, who's twisting clever absurd mind would absolutely find a way to persuade some idiot out of a kid.

It was half past two in the morning, and she couldn't find the will to go to sleep with her mind racing from her evening. Even after Jareth disappeared, her mind couldn't focus on anything else for the rest of their time at the bar.

Pacing back and forth across her bedroom, she tugged at her hair and tried to puzzle out what his next move might be. Why on earth did he choose this place for starters? And how was she going to find him again?

Maybe she could wish someone away, but she had no intention of traipsing back through the maze to rescue them.

Finally, with a suppressed scream, she turned to the vanity mirror.

"Alright guys, if any of you are listening, I need you. I need your help."

There was a beat of silence, and Sarah almost lost her nerve.

"Well it's about time!" Hoggle huffed, coming from behind her to face her, hands on his hips. "Took ya long enough if'n you ask me."

Two shaggy red arms came around the encircle her "SARAH FRIEND!" Ludo bellowed, scaring his namesake to give a yip and hide under the bed.

"Hello Ludo, it's nice to see you too. And you're right Hoggle, I'll admit it. It took _him_ popping out of nowhere and harassing me in public."

Hoggle stopped and his eyes went huge. "You've seen him? This is worse than I thought!"

"He practically admitted everything to me. Hoggle, what are we going to do?"

"Oh no. Uh-uh. No, you're on your own here Missy. Ya think I can go wandering around in your world and take on the Goblin King here? There's no two ways about this, it's on you now."

Sarah, who was bent down trying to coax Ludo the dog out from the bed while the real Ludo looked on confused, knew he was right. A human in the Labyrinth was much different than people from the Labyrinth walking through the suburbs.

"You'll help me though, right? Tell me what you know from talk in the Underground? I need something to go off of, I don't even know where to find him here."

"Hmmmph." Hoggle gave her his signature glare, then hoisted himself up to sit on her vanity stool. "I don't know much. He's apparently been goin' up and back a lot over the years, one goblin finally had the sense to wonder why. Then word got round, and I came n' told ya. He don't stay for long, he'll come back to the castle sometimes, but I be suspectin' he has some place to stay up here."

"But why here? We don't have too many children, not that I've seen. This is a college town, I mean…"

That's when it hit her.

"That son of a…I think I may know what he's going to do.

She hadn't been out of college herself for too long, she knew what couples got up to and the lengths girls went to if things went south. This was more diabolical than she had thought, though in hindsight she shouldn't be surprised.

Maybe she should randomly give a lecture about contraceptives? Turn it into writing safe sex into fiction? She didn't know.

She turned back to her guests. Hoggle was tapping his foot against the stool leg, looking impatient. Ludo was looking under the bed, while Ludo the dog started to tentatively come out and give the giant a sniff or two.

"Hoggle, if you or Sir Didymus hear anything else about this, please let me know immediately, do you understand?"

"Oh suuuure, you want us to do all your dirty work in the Labyrinth, that right?"

"No, that's not…Hoggle, I'm asking you as a friend. I need more information. I think I know what his plan is, but we all know not to mess with the Goblin King. He's on my turf now, and I know how this place works so much better than he does. I think I can trap him, or at least stop him."

She sat down, cradling her head in her hands. "Looking back now on my time there not a lot of it makes sense. Things that I did that seemed to have power, but I don't know what I was doing or if I really did anything at all. I think Jareth was just playing me. I did get Toby back in the end, but what if this kid never returns? It would be on me, because I didn't stop it." She looked up at the dwarf. "I can't just sit here and do nothing, but I do need your help. Will you, Hoggle?"

"HELP SARAH." Ludo said with a nod (who was now gingerly petting the dog), looking at Hoggle to do the same.

The dwarf huffed, and said "Oh all right! We'll let ya know what we hear. Try n' see if ya can track that bastard down. And…try to get some sleep, alright Sarah?"

With a wave they both disappeared before her eyes.

Sleep still didn't seem like an option, though her dog, after sniffing around confusedly for a while, went straight to his crate and flopped down onto his bed.

Still, her mind was too awake. She went over to her desk, took out a sheet of paper, and began scribbling places and ideas of where to find a mischievous Goblin King in suburbia.

_Rented a house? Owns a business here?_

_Is there already a kid he has in mind?_

_Will he wait for one to be born?_

_Will seduce college students._

_Should I give a lecture on 'contraceptives in fiction' to put the idea into their heads?_

_Would contraceptives work with him?_ (she scribbled out that line)

_Adoption agency nearby? Will he legally adopt? Does he know our legal system?_

She tapped her pen against her bottom lip. Some of this seemed feasible, and she pulled out a phone book to scour it for adoption agencies nearby. She found one law firm that handled adoptions, but nothing else within 100 miles of here.

Dog-earing the page of the firm's phone number, she resolved to call them and…what? Warn them there was a baby thief on the loose? They would laugh at her.

She let out a frustrated groan, eliciting an unhappy doggy sigh from the crate by the bed.

This would all have to wait. She needed to at least attempt to sleep, and hopefully deep enough that she didn't visit the Underground.

Thoughts kept flitting through her head, and she kept going back to the desk to scratch down other ideas as she put on pajamas and got ready for bed. As soon as her head hit the pillow though, she was out.

And found herself back at the Blue Lady, abandoned except for a smug fairy king sitting at the corner table.

"I'm warning you again, precious. Keep that pretty nose of yours out of my business."

She put her hands on her hips, annoyed that he wouldn't even let her alone in her sleep. "Well if you keep popping up like this I'll have no choice."

He stood up from the table and glided over. "As much fun as it would be to see you try, there are greater powers at work here. You do not want to be involved."

"Coming from you, I think that means I _need_ to be involved."

"You will never be satisfied, will you Sarah?"

"Just tell me where you are or what you're planning, I'm tired of your games. I've been tired of your mind games these past eleven years!"

He cocked his head. "I can assure you, Sarah, I've done no such thing. I left you with a parting gift to revisit the Labyrinth, it's true, but other than that I have stayed away from your affairs, on my honor as a king."

She blushed, and closed her mouth tightly. The confusion on his face now made her unsure.

He leaned in, a coy smile playing at his lips. "What exactly did you think I do?"

She looked away. In her head, after discovering everything was real, she had chalked up her taste in men who had uncanny similarities to the goblin King as him messing with her brain. She wouldn't put it past him. But that had made her even angrier at the rogue, and had planned on confronting him. "Nothing." she replied firmly, glaring back up at him. She poked him in the chest, accentuating her next words. "But I swear I will track you down and stop you, if it's the last thing I do."

The king only stared down at her and chuckled softly. He leaned in closer, until she could feel his warm breath at her hairline.

"My Sarah, always one for the heroic gestures and dramatics, aren't we?"

"Look who's talking."

"Ah, but we both know I'm no hero, now don't we precious?"

He was much too close, she suddenly realized, and pushed him away. "Don't start. If I see you again when I'm awake, you better be prepared, that's all I'm saying!"

It was a bit hard to seem intimidating in pajamas.

Which Jareth had apparently noticed too.

"My my Sarah, I may just have to give into your whims if you do dress like that again. What a superb gift, I really must thank you," he seemed to deadpan.

She crossed her arms over her chest. "You're changing the subject again."

"Am I? Perhaps because we keep circling around the same topic of conversation and getting nowhere."

She sighed. He did have a point there. "Fine. Is there any way we can come up with a compromise?"

Shrugging his shoulders, he leaned back on the bar, and Sarah had to look away to hide her blush. Why the hell did he have to look so nice in leather?

"If you can come up with some way for me to take a child and for you to appease your conscious, I'm all ears."

In fact, she thought she might just have a way. But Jareth suddenly stood up straight, his eyes growing wide.

"Not another word Sarah. We're not alone. You need to wake up. You must wake up now!"

And she did, blinking into the predawn darkness of her bedroom, a crystal clear moon shining on her bed. She snuggled back into her blankets, thoughts turning over like a merry-go-round in slow motion. The one things that came circling back was this:

She had never heard the Goblin King scared before.


	9. Chapter 9

_A quick warning about this chapter, just so I have my bases covered. Fairies, in traditional English and Celtic lore which I've loosely used in this story, are creepy and malicious as heck. Especially so with humans. So, I've let that come across a bit in this chapter. There! I feel better, I hope you do too, and also that you enjoy this next epoch in my odd little project._

* * *

Puck.

Things were very serious now if they sent that devil after him.

The imp's teeth gleamed as he ran a tongue over them in the dreamspace, taking in the surroundings of the bar.

"You should know better by now to think you're safe in dreams, dearie," he chided. "Didn't I teach you better than that?"

He was still only just a shadow, a dark mass in front of him. Only his green eyes and sharp cat teeth gleamed out of that murky dark.

"She was lovely; I'll give you that. Not lovely enough to defy the King Under the Hill, but no goose either. I may just pay her a visit, see what all the fuss is about.

"Don't. You. Dare."

"In fact, I think I will. See what makes your plaything tick. Oberon does want to know so terribly badly."

Jareth went pale.

"Oh ho, you silly thing! How delightful. Your sires must have done something wrong in their coupling for you to be so dimwitted. Ta-ta for now! We'll be watching. Tick-tock, tick tock…"

He woke up with a start, sitting straight up.

As with most dreaming, time moved differently. While only a moment had passed between Sarah waking and his own, it was already late into the morning, though it had felt like mere seconds in the dream.

He had to find Sarah again, and he had to find her _now_.

* * *

Sarah did take Ludo out for a hike, as promised, and led him along the short part of the Appalachian trail near the town, despite the growing clouds and chilly wind.  
Wagging his tail, he pulled on the leash to make sure every bush was inspected, sniffed, sniffed again, and marked as his. Usually Sarah would pull him away and keep walking, but today was apparently different, so he gladly took his time.

Sarah, for her part, was still lost in thought. What on earth had made Jareth, terror of her childhood and Goblin King extraordinaire, terrified?

And, could she use it against him?

A small part of her wanted to try talking to him again, to see if she could simply convince him to leave her world alone. An even smaller part just wanted to see him again, to continue having a fairytale in her life.

Overwhelmingly though, she wanted to make sure he never took a kid again.

Something was coming towards her, crashing through the brush.

Ludo stood alert, growling, as a lanky red haired backpacker came into view on the path, jauntily coming their way whistling a very familiar tune.

"Hello there!" he called. "Sorry to bother your mutt, must've caught my scent. Why, what's a lovely thing like you doing out on a day like today?"

"Just taking my dog for a walk," she said, cautious not to give away anything and unsure whether to brush past further into the forest or wait for him to leave. Ludo kept growling, but suddenly found he couldn't move from his spot in the bushes.

The backpacker came right up to her, looking closely in her face. Sarah took a step back, stories of people getting murdered in the woods running through her head. There was something else about him too, an off-kilter feeling, something she noticed as he seemed to inspect every pore on her face. His green eyes were just a bit too bright, and didn't that song he was whistling remind her of the Fireys…?"

"Hmmmmm, but you are scrumptious. I do think I'll take just a little taste."

Before Sarah could protest, his cold lips were on hers, tasting of herbs and the sun. Suddenly her thoughts slowed, turning to molasses, and wasn't this pleasant? Wouldn't she like more? She went limp, and the backpacker's hands starting roving all over her, his tongue teasing hers, mint juleps and poison ivy filling her mouth, summer breezes caressing where they shouldn't.

He broke away to whisper (did he? Or did the voice speak into her head? Was she dreaming it all?) "Still so mortal, even after time in our realm, your putty mind barely putting two and two together. Nevertheless, I see the appeal, if barely."

"Are you quite finished yet?"

He broke away from her, and they turned to stare at the newcomer. Sarah thought she would never feel so relieved to see the Goblin King, ever, but as her thoughts began to clear she almost wanted to sob. There he was, nonchalantly leaning against one of the maple trees that lined the trail.

"Deigned to join us, did you? Thought I left you sleeping. We were just getting acquainted, weren't we little Sarah? That _is_ your name, right, sweet?"

With one of the backpacker's arms around her shoulders and his other hand holding her chin, Sarah couldn't move. She just looked at Jareth, a small foggy part of her begging him to do something, anything.

"I would have thought you had left boring mortals behind ages ago, imp."

"Do not try to play ignorant with me, dearie. I see your true feelings, there is no fooling me as you well know. I've already seen your dreams." He grinned back at the King, and now Sarah could see his sharp teeth. She whimpered.

The backpacker sighed. "Unfortunately, I do have a certain report to make. Until then, my sweet."

He sucked one more kiss from Sarah's lips, biting once and licking the blood away before disappearing entirely. Untethered from whatever had bound her in place, Sarah fell to the ground, rocks and twigs biting into her palms.

Suddenly he was there, not touching her, but close enough she could feel his warmth. "I am so sorry. I did not think…did not realize what would happen…you're crying."

A hand reached out, tentatively, and wiped a tear away. She reached up and touched her own face. Apparently she had been crying the entire time, her subconscious sensing the wrongness even if she couldn't.

A sob did escape then. Her mind felt wretched, unclean, infiltrated. It was a thousand times worse than the peach dream.

She found herself falling to one side, facing the Goblin King sitting next to her. He scooted back, giving her some space, staring off into the forest. The sobs continued to come, she couldn't seem to stop them. Ludo, free as well, nuzzled her face and sat with his back pressed next to her, trying to comfort in the only way he knew how.

Eventually they subsided, and she tried to wipe away as much snot and tears as discreetly as possible. She shot Jareth a look, though he was still giving her as much privacy as he could, tracing idle patterns in the dirt with one finger, not looking her way.

"You owe me an explanation." She said, her eyes burning.

He sighed. "I suppose I do."

He stood up and turned, extending a gloved hand to help her up. "Not here though. Too many things listening in."

She grasped his hand, making a rash decision. Though he took a step back once she was up, she closed the distance and hugged him, whispering "Somehow this is your fault, I know, but thanks for saving me all the same."

_It's just the shock after all that, I just needed some physical comfort and he just happened to be here, that's the only reason I'm doing this,_ she rationalized.

She stepped back, quirking her lip slightly at the expression of complete bewilderment on his face. The look was gone far too soon, replaced with his usual mask of half concealed amusement.

And suddenly they were sitting in a coffee shop close to the university.

Ludo barked once, very confused, and sat under the table whining, attempting to process the sudden change in environment.

Sarah tried not to show her own disorientation, and shot Jareth a scathing glare. "After what I just went through magical transportation is the last thing I wanted to do."

"I'm sorry again, precious, but it's easier to avoid detection or unwanted followers."

"Who would want to follow you? And why on earth is a crowded coffee shop less conspicuous than an empty forest?"

He asked a passing waiter for two coffees and said nonchalantly "For most fae, a forest is an ideal place to snoop."

"Huh. Fair, I suppose. Now talk."

He paused for a moment, tapping his fingers on the table. Sarah crossed her arms and glared at him, daring him to try and defy her.

"How much do you know about the fae, Sarah?"

She shrugged. "Everything I learnt from my time in the Labyrinth, I suppose. It seemed like most fairy tales or plays were wrong about quite a few details though. You and the goblins are definitely not out of 'A Midsummer's Night Dream,' that's for sure."

She was startled by the laugh that comment elicited form him. She wasn't sure if she had ever heard him laugh that freely before, but she detected a fair amount of cynicism in it too.

"Oh you have no idea precious. The Bard was a good man, if foolish, and a romantic at heart. Made us all seem much more palatable, I'll give him that."

"You mean…that's partly real? What, are you supposed to be Puck or something?"

His face fell, suddenly serious and pensive. "No. I'm afraid that was him you met this morning."

She blanched. "Oh."

"And I would not say those names from that piece of literature lightly. Especially not dear old mum and dad."

As the waiter placed their coffee on the table, Sarah could only stare at him. He had to be messing with her. But, fairies couldn't lie, right? If he was one? Maybe he was twisting the truth?

"That's right, clever thing. How else do you think I got the title of King? Even if I am king of a wretched, useless kingdom. I was the fifth royal offspring, and so far the last. They didn't have anywhere else to put me, I'm afraid." He took a sip of coffee. "Now, as to why I'm here. You're familiar with the term changelings, correct?"


	10. Chapter 10

"So wait a minute, wait a minute, you were going to _what_? How the hell am I supposed to believe all this?"

Jareth looked up at her from under his lids, clearly amused. "Surely, Sarah, after all you've seen, this wouldn't be too hard of a tale to swallow."

"Just - just give me a minute."

Her coffee had long ago grown cold, but she drank it anyways just to give herself something to do. So Jareth needed to take a child to Oberon (his father, what the hell,) in order to keep his kingdom – what sort of messed up fae power struggle was this?

She had asked question after question, trying to wrap her mind around not just some fairytale goblin kingdom, but a whole hierarchy of fae that she had no idea about. It was almost enough to make her wish she _was_ insane. Easier to cope, if anything.

Now, at least, she was in a position to help. Maybe. She didn't really see how she could in this case while still be morally in the right. She still liked the idea of adoption, but she had no idea what would become of this child with another bastard fairy king.

Apparently, Jareth's plan had been to seduce one of the poor college girls here who made an unwise decision with some frat boy and offer to discreetly take the child off her hands as a favor. She was still processing the fact that he somehow gotten a position of a college psychological counselor at her very own university (trying to imagine the advice he would give almost gave her an aneurysm, 'Why don't you simply wish your annoying roommate away?' or 'No magic mushrooms are an excellent idea, I always prefer my magic in edible form. In fact, why don't you try one of my peaches?')

"You know you can't do that now, right? I can report you to the dean."

"Whom I've already beguiled, so I'm not too terribly worried."

The dean was a sixty-two year old man with the countenance of a Pekinese. Sarah stared.

He smirked at her. "Story for another time, precious."

She shook her head, attempting to rid herself of all the mental images her brain unhelpfully provided her, warding off possibly another aneurysm.

"Well still, there had to be another way around this. I vote for adoption, though judging how you turned out I don't expect much of this king as a father figure." She took another sip. "What if…I went? You could take me as the changeling, I'm sure I could find a way out. I made it out of the Labyrinth, after all."

He shook his head. "You're too old now, Sarah, and would fool no one into thinking you are any younger. You're fully a woman now, much to my delight."

She ignored that last part, though she felt her cheeks flush. "I'm still a heck of a lot younger than any fae, so technically I'm a child by your standards, right?"

"We're preferably looking for an infant or toddler here, may I remind you, so no, you won't do. The whole idea is to wreak havoc in the home by leaving a replacement, probably a young goblin or something. Adults are never imaginative to know the difference, and simply think they have a problem child on their hands."

This was new. She thought about the problem children she knew throughout her life, the boys that would tease and pull her hair in primary school. Perhaps they were changelings too?

They sat in silence for a while after that, Sarah's mind churning.

The Goblin King across from her sighed, stood up, and stretched. "Well, this was lovely, but I best be off," he said, placing a handful of suddenly-materialized dollars on the table, "my schedule is quite full, as I'm sure you know now. So long."

He had sauntered nearly to the door when reality caught up with her and she raced after him, a disgruntled Ludo in tow, catching him by the wrist just outside the door.

"You're just gonna leave? After all that?"

"I'm a busy man, trying to run a kingdom of halfwits and trying to preserve that self-same kingdom with a pesky would-be heroine trying to interrupt. So yes."

She paused. Then, "How can I help?"

He looked from his ensnared wrist to her and back down. She released him, stuffing her hands inside her jacket pockets.

"I can't…not in good consciousness, let you do this by yourself. I don't think I can stop you either, but if I help then maybe it won't be a total catastrophe.'

"I resent that, I would never- "

"Just hear me out, please?"

He sighed, and gestured for her to continue.

"I'll help you look for a loophole, or someway to get a changeling and not wreak havoc on somebody's life. We have lawyers here that are paid to look for loopholes for a living, and lots of other resources. It's just…I don't know, I feel like I owe you a bit for today."

It wasn't that she didn't want to see him go, to give up magic and fantasy in reality for good. It wasn't to keep him around her for a few moments longer. Of course it wasn't.

That would be foolish, she thought.

"You owe me, Sarah, is that it? Well, if you owe me, I can certainly think of several ways for you to repay my kindness." He took a step forward, until their noses almost touched.

She didn't back away per say, but leaned back, unsure.

"I'll accept your offer, though seeing as I didn't do much of anything today, I'm afraid that will put me in your debt. Think hard on what you would life in return – I am your humble servant."

With a wink and a sweeping bow, he was gone.

"Stupid disappearing melodramatic a-hole…" she muttered.

A piece of paper fluttered to the ground at her feet, just where he had stood a moment before. Ludo tentatively sniffed it, and Sarah, shaking her head at the dramatics of her newest partner in crime, picked it up. Scratched out in slanting handwriting was a telephone number.

_Well_, she thought, _I can at least tell Lila I got his number now._

* * *

_Sorry this is a shorter chapter. Life, you know how it is._


End file.
